Toy projectile



M. 'MONGE TOY PROJECTILE May 27, 1930.

Filed Aug. 17. 1928 Patented May 2 7, 1930 UNITED STATES MANUEL MONGE, .OF GREENWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS TOY PROJECTILE Application filed August 17, 1928. Serial No. 300,245.

This invention pertains to toy projectiles of the hand grenade type, comprising a hollow, thin-walled readily frangible bomb shell containing some light and harmless material,

usually of a granular or flaky nature, which i it is desired to throw and disperse at some distance, and relates more particularly to an improved bomb of this type and to a process of making it, the invention being illustrated by way of specific example as embodied in a confetti bomb designed for use at festivals, weddings, parties, etc., for distributing confetti in a convenient and effective manner.

Such shells must be very thin and fragile so that they will break very readily and will distribute their contents widely without producing shell fragments of a sharp or otherwise dangerous character. Accordingly it has been proposed to make such shells of a waxy but brittle material, for example stearin, paraffin or the like, such material being molded or otherwise shaped to make fractional parts of the desired shell, the parts thereafter being united, as for example by welding their abutting edges to form a complete shell structure, the filling, for example confetti, being introduced before the shell is completely built up.

By reason of the extremely fragile character of the molded shell parts it requires the greatest care and skill to match them and unite them properly so that there is a prohibitive loss in manufacture through breakage when made in accordance with this method. Moreover it is substantially impossible to fill the shells to their full capacity with the desired material, since the shell is incomplete until its several parts have been united, while the completed shells are often misshapen, rough and ribbed at the joints or points of union between the constituentparts, and so far as is known to me, no con- .veniently practical process has heretofore been devised by means of which shells, of a uniform shape and wall thickness, and having the aesthetically pleasing external appearance wihch is apparently an essential element of such an article, can be made rapidly certainly and at a reasonable cost.

In accordance withthe present invention I can produce shells of one-piece homogeneous construction of substantially desired external contour and having smooth and accurately shaped outer surfaces, .such shells being of a predetermined and uniform wall thickness and being initially provided at a predetermined point with a filling opening of convenient size. 7 Since it is important that the material of the shell be such that the fraginents resulting from its fracture shall not be sharp or otherwise capable of injuring persons with which they come in contact, I employ a non-vitreous substance which is quite soft as measured by the usual scale of hardness of materials; which preferably is of more or less unctuous feel; and which is brittle and crumbly at normal room temperatures,preferably selecting a material of a waxy nature since it is characteristic of most such substances that they are easy to mould, light in weight, and chemically inert.

Among the substances suitable for use I apprehend that many among those chemically classed as fats, waxes, and soaps may be found useful, since in each of such classes occur substances which are solid, brittle, and crumbly (and in thin layers easily frangible) at normal temperatures, although melting or flowing freely at temperatures below that of boiling water, most such substances being characterized by an unctuous feel. For specific examples I refer to stearin and stearic acid as exemplifying the first two classes mentioned, while the soda salt of stearic acid exemplifies such a soap. Since the physical characteristics of all of the above substances are of a type generally associated in the mind with those of waxes, I shall hereinafter refer to these desirable substances under the general term waxy materials, but it is clear that other materials, for example some of a chalky nature, possess some of the desired characteristics and may under some circumstances be found useful.

The improved shell in accordance with my process, is made in a single moulding operation and is of domed curvature so that although the complete shell is very light and frangible, as is desirable, it is sufliciently strong for the purpose, and very little loss is experienced through breakage in manufacture, and as the process is simple and may be performed readily and by relatively unskilled labor, the production cost may be kept within commercially practical limits. Referring to the shell as the domed curvature, I mean in general smoothly curved in three dimensions as for example spherically or spheroidally curved. The shells, as above stated, may be moulded to almost any desired shape and may, if desired, be of colored material, or may be painted, coated, or otherwise decorated after completion as may be desired so that they may readily be made to simulate fruits, animals, or other objects. While as herein specifically referred to the shell is primarily intended to be filled with paper confetti, it obviously may be filled or partially filled with other substances.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the improved bomb together with certain steps in the proposed method of mak- -.ing it, with the understanding that the illustrated steps and the order of steps are by way of example only and that other and equivalent materials and method steps and variations in the shape of the completed -bomb aswell as of the materials with which it is filled may be substituted for those herein specifically disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, illustrating a bomb of spherical contour;

Fig. 2 is a composite view showing, in side elevation, bombs of a variety of shapes. i Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating a mould and means for filling it as exemplifying one mode of performing an early step in the operation;

Fig. 4% is a vertical'section, to somewhat -larger scale than Fig. 3, showing the mould inverted and illustrating a later step in the operation;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the mould, showing the mould parts separated at the end of the moulding operation";

Fig. 6 is a vertical section showing the shell as it is removed from the mould;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section showing the shell after it has been trimmed following the 'moulding operation;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating one way of filling the shell with the charge of material; and Fig. 9 is a vertical section showing the filled shell with a closure for the aperture ready to be placed in position.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, I illustrate a spherical shell 1 having a thin, homogeneous one-piece wall 2 of substantially uniform thickness throughout, such wall being made of the selected material, for example, stearic acid. The interior of this shell is filled with a charge 3 of the material which is to be distributed by fracture of the shell, the material herein selected for illustration being paper confetti. At one point the shell has an opening 4, preferably of small dimensions as compared with the diameter of the shell, such opening permitting the shell to be filled and being closed after filling by a suitable closure member 5. This closure member may, if desired, consist of a thin platev of the same material as the wall 2 of the shell, secured in place in any desired manner as, for example, by fusing the edges of the plate to the adjacent surface of the shell proper, but I prefer to make the closure of thin paper, since this is more easily handled and, if of the same color as the material of the shell, such is scarcely distinguishable when properly positioned. A. thin paper disk may readily be secured in position y softening the shell at the edge of the opening, either by heat or a suitable solvent, so that the paper disk may be pressed down into the substance of the shell wall, and adheres I to the latter, thus providing a flush outer surface. Alternatively the paper may be attached by means of adhesive, if desired. Since this shell is substantially complete at the time of filling it may, if desired, be filled to full capacity so that a charge of maximum size is distributed when the shell breaks. This maximum charge may be placed in the shell without substantial compression or compactv ing such as has heretofore been proposed and 1 which is impractical in view of the fragile character of the shell.

This one-piece shell having a smooth uninterrupted surface may, as above stated, be colored or decorated in any desired manner and, being without seams or obvious joints, presents a much morepleasing appearance than if made of several parts united to form a complete shell.

In accordance with a preferred method of procedure I first provide a multipart mould, such mould herein being illustrated as consisting of two parts 6 and 7 providing an internal cavity 8 having a shape corresponding to the desired contour of the shell to be made. One of the mould parts, for example part 6, is provided with a sprue hole or gate 9 through which the shell-forming material may be poured into the cavity 8. I find that plaster of Paris is a desirable material for Y desired shell-forming material, for this purpose finding a device such as shown in Fig. 3 convenient, although not essential. As illustrated in this figure the shell-forming material, for example stearic acid indicated at S, is placed in a suitable container 10 which in turn is arranged within an outer vessel 11 which may be heated as by means of burners 12 and which contains water 13 or other suitable liquid. The heat from the liquid 13 is transmitted to the shell-forming material S, melting the latter and maintaining it at a substantially constant temperature. After this material has been melted, a valve in the delivery spout 14 is opened and the material S is allowed to run into the mould cavity 8 until the latter is completely full. The molten material is now allowed to remain in the mould cavity for a predetermined time, for example from three to five seconds or until a solid crust of the material has been deposited upon the cold surface of the cavity 8. The thickness of this crust will depend upon the length of time which is allowed to elapse before the next step in the operation, and ordinarily will be determined by experiment in accordance with the material selected for forming the shell, the temperature of the mould and of the surrounding air, and such other factors as may vary from time to time. Usually in using stearic acid I find that from three to five seconds is sufficient for the performance of this step.

When a crust of desired thickness has thus been deposited on the interior surface of the mould, I then invert the mould, as indicated forming material 16 to run out freely through the sprue hole 9, conveniently collecting such material in a vessel 17 for reworking. The

crust 15 left upon the interiorcof the mould cavity, now forms a hollow homogeneous one-piece shell having a stem or sprue 18 integrally united to it and projecting up into the sprue opening 9. I now separate the mould members, (Fig. 5) leaving this shell 1 attached by its sprue 18 to that one of the mould members which has the sprue opening. This shell 1 now may be detached from this mould by pushing inwardly upon the sprue 18, the detached shell with its sprue 18 being indicated at 1 in Fig. 6. The next step in the operation is to sever the sprue 18 from the shell proper at the point 19, sub stantially flush with the outer surface of the shell, thus leaving an aperture 20, Fig. 7, leading into the cavity 21 in the completed shell 1.

I next proceed to fill the shell through the aperture 20 with a charge of the desired material. This filling may be carried out by hand, for example by picking up the charge material and dropping it or pushing it through the opening 20, although I find it convenient to use a funnel-like device, as

shown in Fig. 8, to assist in this operation. This funnel-like device 22 has an upper reservoir portion adapted to contain the charge forming material C, for example confetti, and a lower spout portion 23 which may be introduced into the aperture 20 of the shell. Through this spout 23 thefilling material is permitted tofiow into the shell, preferably until the latter is completely filled, although the degree of filling maybe varied as desired and inaccordance with the type of filling material employed.

Having thus filled the shell 1, I next proceed to seal the aperture 20 in any desired manner, preferably by means of a disk 24 of thin paper which is caused to adhere to the shell proper and whose outer surface preferably is flush with that of the shell proper.

As above stated, the stearic acid or other shell-forming substance may be colored so as to impart any desired tint or color to the completed shell, (although the transparency of the unclosed shell is such that when filled with confetti the color of the latter imparts a pleasing appearance without requiring other decoration) or the outer surface of the shell may be decorated by means of paint,

stain, or adhesively attached spangles or the.

like so as to give it any desired ornamental or decorative appearance.

While the shell herein illustrated to assist in describing the method is of spherical shape, I contemplate that other shapes readily may be made in the same way. For exampl-e as shown in Fig.2, the shell 25 is of elliptical form; the shell 26 of oval or eggshape, the shell 27 of pear shape; and the shell 28 of apple shape, it being obvious that other shapes, for example shapes simulating animals and other objects, may readily be formed, using if necessary moulds consisting of more than two parts.

I claim:

1. A toy projectile of the class described comprising a hollow thin walled domed shell of stearic acid, said shell being seamless and continuous except for a filling opening of small area, relative to the maximum crosssection of the shell, whereby the shell possesses substantially the maximum strength inherent in a hollow body having uninterrupted domed walls, the wall of the shell being of substantially uniform thickness throughout and having a smooth outer surface, and a member separate from the body of the shell for covering the opening therein.

2. A toy projectile of the class described comprising a thin hollow domed shell of stearic acid, said shell having a seamless wall of substantially uniform thickness throughout and having a smooth outer'surface, the shell being homogeneous and continuous except for a filling opening of an area substantially less than the maximum cross-section of the shell, whereby to preserve to the shell substantially all of the strength inherent in a hollow body having an uninterrupted domed well, said shell being substantially full of loose confetti, and an independent cover member for the opening.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 4th day of August, 1928.

MANUEL MONGE. 

